Monday, 20 January 2014

A mini story about touch

I am grateful for a learning opportunity to attend a talk entitled "Mechanosensory transduction and its modification in C. elegans" given by Professor Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and a Nobel Laureate (Chemistry 2008).

A funny and friendly speaker who uses analogies to better explain ideas, he shared about his works using mutants of proteins that are involved in mechanotransduction.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a ~ 1 mm longworm that has been widely used in scientific experiments as a model organism.

When you touch its head, it moves backward and turns.

When you touch its tail, it moves forward.

C. elegans eat bacteria, and fungi eat C. elegans.

Below are some (non-technical) inspirations from his talks, of course he did not mention these ideas, but it is always fascinating to think randomly and in stochastic manners.

♥ Touch your loved ones: babies, grandparents, lovers, friends.

How good do you feel? Can you feel even better?

Imagine your protein molecules in your mechanosensory (neuron) cells working in concert to bring the signals in your body and mind.

Thanks to the transparency of C. elegans, studying cellular differentiation and developmental processes in the intact organism, is possible.

♥ How is about keeping our items in transparent boxes and containers to facilitate faster search?

♥ How is about having more windows to our living / study / work space, to let the energy of sunlight empower us?